Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Our mothers always told us that it’s not polite to talk about money. And while we usually listen to what our mother’s tell us, this one time we’re going to ignore their advice. Sorry, mom!
But, really, it’s not a big deal, because we’re not talking about our money. Instead, we’re talking about Japanese people’s money–specifically, how much they have saved up on average. And the number might surprise you.
Without a doubt, one of the things Japan is best known for is trains. And it’s not just marketing hype either–public transportation is apparently good enough to accommodate the decreasing number of Japanese youth getting driver’s licenses. But while most trains can be counted on to run from 5 am to 1 am every day of the week in the cities, that’s not always the case in rural areas.
Take Tsushima no Miya station in Kagawa Prefecture, for example, where the train has the most limited schedule in the country: It’s only open two days out of the year!
Did you have anything OC Desu (OCです) today?
If your answer is “Wha?” then you’re probably not hip to the new buzzword circling around social media in Japanese recently. Students of the language can probably figure it out by saying it out loud, and the image above gives us a pretty big hint too.
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Malaysia, like many southeast asian countries, is a melting pot of people of different ethnicities and religions. Of course, there are more and more people working and studying overseas nowadays, so you might think that every other country is in the same situation, but you’ll know you’re in a seriously multinational city when almost every new person you meet asks you “are you local?” (my personal experience as a Singaporean).
To that sort of question, 17-year-old Malaysian YouTuber Joyce Chu proudly answers with her song Malaysia Chabor (chabor means “woman” in the Hokkien dialect), which has garnered over 1.6 million views in slightly more than a week!
It’s been a couple of years since we featured something about Masako Mizutani (水谷雅子) on our site, but Japan’s Lady of Eternal Youth is back again and looking just as youthful as ever. Even now at 45 years of age, she’s still the envy of women everywhere with barely a wrinkle to be seen.
In fact, Ms. Mizutani’s age-defying looks are so legendary that she was (unsurprisingly) selected to star in a new commercial for Asahi’s line of “Asahi Perfect Asta Collagen powder.” You can bet that with her endorsement, Japanese women will be flocking to stores to buy the new product. Keep reading to see the commercial now.
It’s not really a secret that Japan can sometimes get a little carried away with its youth obsession. Look no further than the abundance of pre-pubescent, yet disturbingly sexualized, anime characters and girl idol bands with shockingly young “retirement” ages – around 21 in many cases – for proof.
It’s one thing to have a creepy countdown to when Hermione Granger turns 18, but it’s kind of way creepier to just lose all interest in celebrities altogether when they reach official adulthood.
Anyway, a new Japanese film called Sweet Pool Side and a limited run promotional cafe for the film may have just set a new precedent in youth-obsession creepiness. The film, according to the trailer, is lightly related to the trials and tribulations of being on the high school swim team but also focuses on a young boy’s decision of whether or not to shave the pubic hair of one of the girl’s swim team members (at her request). He then at one point appears to eat some of the girl’s body hair.
Does your country have everything you need? If it doesn’t, usually the internet can provide for you. But in some specific cases, there are certain products or contraband that just aren’t allowed in a particular country. Here’s a list of 15 things that are currently not allowed, or weren’t allowed at some point!
Toppings and seasonings have an often overlooked power to completely make or break the overall taste of a dish. And yet, many of them can be found at prices under 100 yen (US$1). Why is something so important to your meal’s flavor made and sold so cheaply?
Back in 2013 Kobayashi Shokuin, decided to buck that trend and came out with a luxury furikake (dried condiment) that sells for the premium price of two 30g (1oz) cans for 10,000 yen ($100). Much to their delight, the response has been great and people have been buying up this Kuchi Doke at an increasing rate despite its exorbitant price.
Now, I think kimonos are lovely, and I find their colors and patterns absolutely fascinating. But as beautiful as they are, kimonos tend to be expensive, and the process of wearing them is complicated enough that it takes considerable practice (usually involving going to classes of some kind) to dress yourself properly in one. And the truth is that there are very few opportunities today for the average Japanese to dress in kimono outside of special occasions, such as the coming-of-age ceremony, university graduations or weddings. Yes, people do still wear kimonos, but it’s rare enough that someone in a kimono will stand out in a crowd, as visitors to Japan will undoubtedly have noticed. And if simply being in a kimono can be eye-catching, imagine how much attention you might get wearing a stunning kimono like the one pictured above!
Creators can be inspired by anything and everything around them. It could be a sight, a sound, a person, or even a website. Italy-based artist and design student Victor Faretina created a series of dresses inspired by some famous websites, titled Web in Vogue.
As people working on and for the Internet, we spend an awful lot of time surfing websites, but the idea of wearing a website certainly hasn’t crossed our minds. However, these amazing gowns designed by Victor are definitely making us look at the websites we visit daily in a different light!
Hot on the heels of an announcement that cold and sugary foods are bad for your body, Asahi announced that they are releasing their coldest sugary drink to date. I’m willing to take the risk however, because summer in Japan can suck pretty hard and a sub-zero beverage would definitely hit the spot.
This new drink called “Mitsuya Freezing Cider,” turns to ice the moment you pop the cap. Sounds great but Asahi seems to have surprised netizens a little with their unique distribution plans.
As visual media, it’s in the best interest of most anime and manga to be aesthetically pleasing. After all, the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes from looking at something cute or pretty has kept fans coming back to Pokémon and the works of Studio Ghibli for decades. It’s also great for driving merchandise sales. After all, what anime fan wouldn’t sleep tight with a stuffed Pikachu or Totoro to cuddle as they doze off?
On the other hand though, if you’re trying to fight off drowsiness, we recommend decorating your room with a plush toy from the manga series Parasyte, which is so shockingly terrifying you may never close your eyes again.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is almost upon us, folks! And if you’re a manga fan, just pick your poison to get properly revved up: the first volume of the Captain Tsubasa remix has been available since May in convenience stores all over Japan, Volume 1 of the new series Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun just came out, and then there is the comic’s upcoming exhibition in Tokyo.
As if that weren’t enough, the Japan Professional Football League (J. League for short) has been collaborating with the über-influential soccer manga on a project called “Dream Shoot”. In it, as the name suggests, J. League players take on the challenge of bringing to life the dynamic and often over-the-top soccer moves featured in the long-running comic.
So today, we bring to you Part Three of the collaboration, in which three athletes from the Cerezo Ōsaka team reenact the “Twin Shoot”. Read on to view all three awesome videos, as well as to learn a little more about the manga series and its exhibition (because let’s face it, Flash Kicker, as it’s known in the U.S., never made it big here unlike the rest of the world). Even for a soccer newb like me, the “Dream Shoots” are a sight to behold!
A building at a factory in Hunan Province, China that produces gunpowder for use in fireworks was obliterated following an explosion that rocked a neighboring community on the morning of May 28. The plant’s management issued a statement saying, “It was completely destroyed so we don’t know the cause. However, it was a normal explosion.” It’s hard to argue with the managers in a gunpowder factory – certainly that would be the most normal place to have an explosion.
Kyabakura hostess clubs, where men pay to spend time with a girl who will pour their drinks, light their cigarettes, and generally lavish them with attention, are a common sight in Japanese cities. The equivalent for female customers is a host club, where women can be waited on by smartly-dressed male hosts. A newer addition to Japan’s nightlife scene are cross-dressing bars, which fulfil a niche gap in the industry.
At Bar Prince, in Tokyo’s Nakano ward, the boyish-looking staff in ruffle-trimmed “little prince” outfits are all cross-dressers. The bar operates a strict women-only policy which extends to staff as well as patrons. At hostess clubs, the customer is king: but at this club, the stated mission is to treat every customer like a princess.
While we’ve seen plenty of Attack on Titan cosplay over the past year or so, we’ve certainly never seen anything like this.
With relatively little farmable land, fruit is on the pricey side in Japan. In keeping with its status as a special treat, it shows up pretty often as a desert topping, but again, prices being what they are, usually not in such large quantities.
Shortcake lovers, for example, have been known to get excited about the one day a month convenience store chain Lawson adds a single slice of strawberry to its cakes. And while we suppose that’s better than nothing, it still can’t hold a candle to one Japanese cafe that tops its parfaits with what looks like an entire strawberry patch.
One of the very first Japanese words I learned was afuredasu, or “overflow.” This wasn’t because it showed up in a textbook or a teacher taught it to me, but because afuredasu seems to show up in roughly a third of every Japanese pop song ever produced.
It’s not the only phrase that’s a regular in J-pop lyrics though, as shown by this flow-chart that can turn anyone into a Japanese lyricist.
When people visit Japan, they often marvel at how great the service everywhere is. Trains run on time; a guy pops out of a little hatch like a station ninja when you’re struggling with a ticket vending machine; packages come precisely when they’re supposed to, and even if you miss them you can just call the driver on their mobile phone to arrange a new delivery time.
Day in, day out, stuff just works. And yet, unlike the many foreigners who live here, native Japanese take this all completely in their stride. Take this video, for example, which was taken by a foreigner living and uploaded to YouTube a couple of weeks ago…
Samsung and Facebook’s Oculus VR unit are working together to create a virtual reality device powered by Samsung’s Galaxy S5 line of phones, Engadget reports. You literally plug your phone into the headset and you’re inside a “shockingly good” virtual world, the site reports.
New Jimmy Choo x Sailor Moon collaboration brings anime magic to bags, shoes and accessories
New Pokémon Gaming Headset for Nintendo Switch will turn you into Pikachu
Double Drink Bottles a Hit in Korea, Especially with the Hopelessly Indecisive
Japanese design company creates world’s most badass…sewing supply box?!?【Video】
Nintendo Museum’s official merch includes awesome giant controller cushions【Video】
Why don’t busty Fatal Fury ninja girl Mai’s clothes ever tear? We ask the developers
Kyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn
Starbucks adds a Chocolate Mousse Latte to the menu in Japan for a limited time
Starbucks Japan releases a new Matcha Latte with Reusable Cup for the tourist market
New Hello Kitty x McDonald’s Japan collaboration is like a life lesson to live by 【Video】
One of Tokyo’s most beautiful gardens gets its own moon for moon-viewing season
Some of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhere
Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
New Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the set
Tokyo Skytree to be lit up in Jujutsu Kaisen colors on Halloween in months-long art collaborationStarbucks Japan releases a new Matcha Latte with Reusable Cup for the tourist market
The perks of drinking root beer at A&W in Japan
New Japanese Food Sample Making Cafe opens in Asakusa, Tokyo
Starbucks serves up a new afternoon tea set in Japan with a super high price tag
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Studio Ghibli lets you cosplay as Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle with cosy anime fashion rangeNew Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the setStarbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
Japanese government suspends plan to pay Tokyo women 600,000 to move away to get married
Japanese government wants to remove tax-exemption limit for foreign tourists on consumables
Starbucks Japan unveils new limited-edition Frappuccino for autumnOne of Tokyo’s most beautiful gardens gets its own moon for moon-viewing season
Matsushima restaurant offers all-you-can-eat sashimi in as many ways as you can dream it【Photos】
Super budget-friendly retro Tokyo hotel feels like having your own 1960s Asakusa apartment
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Why don’t busty Fatal Fury ninja girl Mai’s clothes ever tear? We ask the developers
Kyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn
Starbucks adds a Chocolate Mousse Latte to the menu in Japan for a limited time
Starbucks Japan releases a new Matcha Latte with Reusable Cup for the tourist market
New Hello Kitty x McDonald’s Japan collaboration is like a life lesson to live by 【Video】
Tried-and-tested ways to learn Japanese while having fun!
With hand-painted faces, no two Totoro kamikogei traditional papercraft figures are the same
Onigiri Bread from Japanese convenience store chain changes everything we know about rice balls
Disney young adult novels get new beautiful shojo anime-style covers for Japan
My Hero Academia now accepting votes for “World Best Hero” from its vast roster of quirky characters
Some of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhere
Entire shop of Cardcaptor Sakura anime merchandise to open in Tokyo this month
Kyoto’s breathtaking, mouthwatering matcha parfait bars get new autumn-only flavor
Comparing Japanese sweet potato ice creams that unite both summer and fall in one cup【Taste test】